


Cinnamon and Apple Cider

by snapdragonpop007



Category: Mr. Robot (TV)
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Dogs, Elliot's getting better tho, Elliot's working at a pet shelter and not hacking anything, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Mental Health Issues, Multi, darlene cares about her brother, elliot is very gay and very flustered, lots of dogs, tyrell is one smooth motherfucker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 11:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16158533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapdragonpop007/pseuds/snapdragonpop007
Summary: Working at a shelter was easy. It was low stress, calm, hardly any trouble--plus, Elliot got to pet dogs all day. It was perfect for him, especially since he had just gotten out of the hospital.What wasn't so perfect was when one of the dogs decided to run away from him and to the cafe on the other side of the street.





	Cinnamon and Apple Cider

Elliot looked at the orange pill bottle. He twisted it around in his hands, watching as the pills rolled around in the small container.

“Why did you bring me this?”

He looked up, blinking slowly at Darlene.

“I know you don’t like taking your pills--” she paused, chewing the inside of her cheek as she searched for the right words. “Ell, I don't want you to end up in the hospital again. I can't--we can't see you like that again.”

She was talking about Angela--at least, that's who Elliot thought she was talking about. 

He rattled the pills around, then slowly took off the lid. He popped one in his mouth and swallowed, and Darlene was quick to fish a water bottle out of her bag.

“You shouldn't be taking those dry.” 

He took a small sip, just to please her, and then handed both bottles back. She tucked them away and looked back up at Elliot. He shuffled his feet and looked down.

“I need to get back. The dogs have to get walked--” 

“Right, of course.” Darlene gave him a bright smile. “You’ll be around for dinner, yeah? Shama’s been missing you.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. I always am.” Elliot’s own smile was tight. He really did need to get back and walk the dogs, so he gave his sister a short wave before turning around and heading back inside the shelter. It was rude, he knew, but he hated when his sister babied him. 

So what if he forgot to take his pills this morning? Darlene didn’t need to show up at his work and watch him take them. 

“Everything okay?” Shayla looked up from the computer as Elliot went storming past.

“Yeah, it's fine.” 

Shayla watched him as he took several leashes off the wall, throwing them over his shoulder. “She’s just looking out for you, ya know?” 

“Yeah, I know.” Elliot suddenly lost his bite, and he gave a soft sigh.

“Hey, no, don’t beat yourself up.” Shayla stood up from the desk, walking around the counter to pull Elliot into a hug. Elliot stiffened for a moment, but he fell into it, bringing his arms around to circle Shayla’s waist. “You’re doing a lot better, and we’re all really proud of you, Ell.” 

Elliot swallowed down a smile. It came right back though, and he gave Shayla a quick squeeze before pulling away. “I really need to go walk the dogs.” 

It was his own way of saying thank you.

“Go walk your dogs then.” Shayla smiled and shook her head. “I’ll have some hot coco when you get back.” 

Elliot nodded, then dashed back into the kennel. They all started to bark in excitement when he came in, and Elliot gave them all waves and ‘Hello’s’ and quick ear scratches as he went to the back to the dogs that he had been assigned. The shelter wasn’t very large and didn’t have too many animals, and each week he and the other staff rotated which dogs they were responsible for. 

This week Elliot had Bernard, Flipper and Daisy. 

He went to Bernard first, and the large Saint Bernard let out a deep bark as Elliot knelt next to his kennel and opened the door. 

“Hey, what did we say about inside voices?”

Bernard just wagged his tail and bopped his nose against Elliot’s cheek. 

Elliot scratched behind the dog’s ears, then stood to go to Daisy’s kennel. Bernard followed him diligently, waiting patiently as Elliot unlocked Daisy’s kennel. She walked out calmly, waiting for her customary pat from Elliot before falling into step behind him.

Daisy was a mutt through and through. The best Elliot could guess was she had some Lab in her, but other than that he was totally clueless. 

Flipper was the skittish Terrier that Elliot loved will all his heart. He would have adopted her if he could, but currently he was making minimum wage and living with Shayla. Half the time they could hardly afford to feed themselves.

“Hey, girl.”

Flipper wagged her tail, giving Elliot’s hand a lick through the kennel door. 

Elliot scooped her up and held her close to his chest for a moment. Her tail thumped against his wrist, and she licked his cheek. Elliot smiled, cuddling her a little closer before setting her back on the ground. 

“Alright, let’s get going.” Elliot attached the leashes to each of their collars. He wrapped them around his hand once to keep a better grip, then pulled out his phone as he let the dogs lead him out the back door. 

He put his earbuds in--it helped to distract him--his thumb hovering over the message app. He clicked it, then Darlene’s name, and typed out a quick message before he could stop himself.

_I’m sorry. Thanks for bringing my pills._

He pressed send, then put on his music and shoved his phone back in his sweater pocket. 

He ignored the buzz that came shortly after. 

Elliot put his hood up as the Fall air hit him, tugging it down as far as it would go. It wasn’t so much for the warmth as it was the comfort it brought. Some days were better than others, but the New York streets would always bring some discomfort to Elliot. 

Elliot lead the dogs on the path with the least amount of people, knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to properly deal with the hustle and bustle of late afternoon foot traffic. This path was more side streets and parks, so it’s not like the dogs minded. And it calmed Elliot to look at the small stores and cafes and the grass and flowers. 

He stopped at a small park to let the dogs off their leashes so they could run around for awhile. The dogs didn’t stray too far from him--they never liked to--so Elliot took a seat on one of the benches and pulled out his phone. 

_ur fine ell. its just one of thos days_

Elliot couldn’t help but smile fondly as he read it. Darlene was horrible at texting, and he shook his head as another text popped up.

_ur still comng at 5 rigt_

_Yeah_. Elliot looked up to see that the dogs were still there. All three of them were sniffing around a tree a few feet from him. _Do you need me to bring anything?_

_no shamas got evryting coverd_

Elliot sent a quick _okay_ then slipped his phone back in his pocket. He whistled for the dogs to come back, and they all came running back to him with thumping tails and lolling tongues. He put their leashes back on one by one, accepting their kisses and nose bops, and when he went to slip the leash on Flipper’s collar she gave a sharp yip and took off. 

Elliot blinked slowly, hands still in the air as he processed exactly what happened. 

Then he cursed and jumped up, dragging Bernard and Daisy with him as he took off after Flipper. 

His heart nearly jumped out of his throat as he saw Flipper run across the street. A car drove past as soon as she got to the other side, and Elliot felt a strangled gasp leave his throat. He hardly glanced to see if the street was clear before dashing across, letting his grip on the leashes go slack as he jumped up on the sidewalk. He yanked his earbuds out, kneeling down to scoop up Flipper, who was pawing at what looked like very expensive suit pants.

“I’m really sorry, I don’t know what--” Elliot paused as he looked up. 

The eyes staring back at him were very blue, and very, _very_ pretty. 

“It’s okay.” the man gave him a gentle smile. His voice had a light accent, something Elliot couldn’t place. “It’s not like she did anything wrong.”

Elliot swallowed and took a step back. The man was wearing what looked like a very expensive suit, and he was holding a cup of coffee in his hand and still looking at Elliot with those stupidly pretty eyes. “I--I’m still sorry.”

He gave a light laugh, and Elliot felt his breath hitch. “Is she yours?”

“Yes. No.” Elliot looked down at the other two dogs, feeling his face heat up. “I would like to take her but I have prescriptions I need to pay for and I don't have the money to--”

Elliot stopped. This man didn't need to know about Elliot's problems--hell, he probably doesn't even care. Angela would tell him that he didn't need to go off telling people about his mental state anyway.

“What's your name?”

“Flipper.” Shit, no, that wasn't what he was asking. “Elliot. I'm Elliot. She's Flipper.”

He gestured weakly at the dog still in his arms.

“Well, you're both very cute.” He gave him a smile, and Elliot wanted to hit his heart for melting at the sight this man made. “I'm Tyrell.” 

“Hi.” It came out a bit more breathless than Elliot intended.

The car that was parked along the side of the road honked and Elliot jumped.

The man-- _Tyrell_ \--shot a glare at the car. The driver glared right back through the windshield, making wide and large gestures with his hands. Tyrell sighed, but when he turned back to Elliot he had a soft smile back on his lips. 

“Can I buy you a coffee, Elliot?”

Elliot felt his blush darken at the use of his name. “Uh, don’t you have to go--?”

“My driver can wait a little longer.” Tyrell moved a little closer, his smile getting a little softer. 

“I uh--I don’t think I can bring the dogs in…” Elliot trailed off. 

Tyrell looked down to Flipper and Daisy and Bernard, then back up to Elliot. “Wait out here for a few minutes, okay?”

Elliot nodded, clutching Flipper a little closer to his chest. He watched Tyrell disappear back into the cafe, peering through the glass to see what was going on. Tyrell gave him a bright smile when he noticed, and Elliot was quick to look away. His face felt like it was on fire, and Elliot tried his hardest to will his blush away. 

Tyrell came out a few moments later with another cup in hand. 

“I hope we’ll see each other again.” He gently pressed the cup into Elliot’s hand, letting his finger’s linger on Elliot’s wrist. “ _Au revoir_ , Elliot.” 

Then Tyrell was gone. Elliot blinked as he watched the car drive off, clutching the cup as tightly as he could. Warmth was seeping into his skin, and he took a small sip. 

Elliot blinked in surprise and pulled the cup away. 

It was apple cider, with just a touch of cinnamon added. 

Elliot loved apple cider, and he couldn’t quite stop the smile from coming back to his lips. Then he noticed the numbers scrawled on the side of the cup, and Elliot’s smile got a little wider and his blush a little darker. 

He set Flipper back down, hooking her leash onto her collar before she could run away again. 

He held the coffee cup close to his chest the entire way back to the shelter, burying his head in his hood as he tried to fight off his blush.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I've been toying with for a while. i might write more? I'm not too sure yet. I just wanted a meet-cute because everything in this fandom is always so god damn angsty. 
> 
> I've also been to New York once. Please don't judge me too harshly on the botched city layout


End file.
